Newsmakers

Ryan Travia recognized for Drug and Alcohol Peer Advisers program

Harvard’s Director of Alcohol and Other Drug Services Ryan M. Travia was named one of five “National Outstanding Advisers” at a national convention held in Atlanta earlier this month. The annual event was sponsored by an international network of colleges and schools dedicated to promoting peer-based education on drug and alcohol use.

The University’s first director of alcohol and other drug services, Travia created and manages Harvard’s Drug and Alcohol Peer Advisers (DAPA) program. Since January 2006, 30 Harvard undergraduates have received training in drug and alcohol education and counseling through the program.

E.O. Wilson receives Catalonia International Prize

The Generalitat de Catalunya awarded Pellegrino University Professor EmeritusEdward O. Wilson its 2007 Catalonia International Prize at a Nov. 19 ceremony. The Catalan government annually awards the prize (which includes a monetary prize of 80,000 euros) in acknowledgment of the contributions to the development of cultural, scientific, or human values around the world.

At a press conference at the ceremony, delegate president of the prize Xavier Rubert de Ventós stressed that the jury appreciated the professional versatility of Wilson and the courage and honesty he has shown when defending his theories “when it was and was not politically correct.”

Stephen A. Mitchell awarded Dag Strömbäck Prize

Stephen A. Mitchell, professor of Scandinavian and folklore, was recently awarded the Dag Strömbäck Prize from the Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy for Swedish Folk Culture. The academy recognized Mitchell during its annual meeting at the Uppsala Castle in Uppsala, Sweden, on Nov. 6, citing his “important research concerning medieval literature, the conception of witchcraft, and folklore in Scandinavia.”

Mitchell is the author of many works on Scandinavian folklore, including “Heroic Sagas and Ballads.” He currently serves as the chairman of the Committee on Degrees in Folklore and Mythology at Harvard.